I was up in Bar Harbor Maine yesterday and man was there a gale blowing. Perfect inspiration to fire up Echo & the Bunnymen's Ocean Rain album, the closest thing to a new wave incantation to nature's powers.
So I spark up the iPod and pick "Nocturnal Me", figuring the dramatically dark track will set the mood perfectly, and headed into a nearly abandoned Arcadia National Park:
<img src="http://www.pbase.com/myirwin/image/51290856.jpg">
I got to the shore and sure enough, "the sea was angry that day my friends" - [i]G. Castanza[/i]. We're talking sideways rain, bent trees, and major whitecaps. Could there BE a better track for this than "Ocean Rain"?! [i]"And now my hurricane, brought down this ocean rain, to bathe me again"[/i]:
<img src="http://www.pbase.com/myirwin/image/51291092.jpg">
...I'm pretty pumped at this point, but it's nothing compared to what's coming when the song builds to it's crescendo of [i]"screaming from beneath your waves, screaming from beneath...YOUR WAAA-AAA-AAA-AAA-A-AVES...SCREEEEEEAMING...FROM BENEEEETH THUUUH WAAA-AAA-AAA-A-AVES!!!"[/i] Way freakin cool, especially with the waves and spray going crazy:
<img src="http://www.pbase.com/myirwin/image/51290860.jpg">
Driving even further down the coast to the uber-dark All Night Version of "Killing Moon" wasn't bad either. Now, I realize that Ocean Rain is a pretty broadly appreciated album, but I think it deserves even more recognition still. Ian McCulloch's song structures, lyricism, phraseology, odd intonations, and generally astounding creativity...it's unbe-freaking-lievable! I'm convinced he's an absolute mad genius. Who can think up such stuff?! This HAS to be one of the handful of truly signature new wave works. [:p]
Oh BTW, any other good storm music you can think of?? [:I]
